Mississippi State welcomes the Georgia Southern Eagles for a three game series this weekend at Dudy Noble Field.

Georgia Southern is led by head coach Rodney Hennon who is in his 22nd year with the program. Hennon has compiled an 856-571 overall record as head coach. The Eagles have reached the NCAA tournament 6 times under his leadership.

This will be just the second time the two programs have met on the diamond. The one other matchup was in an elimination game in the 1990 College World Series where Mississippi State won 15-1. There is a connection between the two teams as legendary Bulldog coach Ron Polk spent four seasons at Georgia Southern before his time in Starkville.

Georgia Southern enters the weekend with an 1-3 overall record. They hosted the Maryland Terrapins for a three game set last weekend in Statesboro. Maryland won the first two games in the series but Georgia Southern was able to salvage game three. The Eagles hosted Georgia Tech on Tuesday night where they lost 7-4.

Georgia Southern is coming off a disappointing 2023 campaign where they finished 27-29 overall and 16-14 in conference play. However, this program is just two years removed from one of its most successful season's in school history. In 2022, the Eagles finished 41-20 overall and earned the #16 seed in the NCAA tournament. They hosted the Statesboro Regional but were knocked out by eventual College World Series participant Notre Dame.

This year's Georgia Southern team is led by captain's Sam Blancato and Jarrett Brown. Both are experienced veterans entering their fifth years with the program.

Blancato, the Marietta, GA native, started in all 55 games he played in last year and only missed one. The first baseman led the team in batting average at .303 a year ago. He is currently hitting .273 and is responsible for the only home run on the team.

Brown, the Savannah, GA, native has also played a lot of baseball for the Eagles as he has been a regular starter each of the last three years. Last season the third baseman had a breakout year posting a career high in hits (52) and home runs (12). Brown is currently hitting .250 in 16 at bats this year posting a pair of RBIs.

Mississippi State and Georgia Southern are set to play the first of three weekend matchups tomorrow at 4:00.